The table you came for
| Protocol | Port | Encryption | Use it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| IMAP | 993 | SSL/TLS | Yes — this is the one |
| IMAP | 143 | None, or STARTTLS | Only with STARTTLS enforced |
| POP3 | 995 | SSL/TLS | Yes, if you must use POP3 |
| POP3 | 110 | None | No |
| SMTP submission | 587 | STARTTLS | Yes — the standard |
| SMTP submission | 465 | Implicit TLS | Yes, equally fine |
| SMTP relay | 25 | Opportunistic | No — blocked nearly everywhere |
Incoming: IMAP or POP3
IMAP keeps mail on the server and synchronises. Read something on your phone and it is read on your laptop; make a folder in one place and it exists in both. This is what you want, and it is the only sane choice once more than one device is involved.
POP3 downloads mail to one machine and, by default, deletes the server copy. It made sense when storage was expensive and connections were metered. Today its main effect is losing your mail archive along with the laptop it was on.
Use IMAP on 993 unless you have a specific reason not to.
Outgoing: 587 or 465
Both are for submission — your mail client handing a message to your provider's server. The difference is only how encryption starts:
- 587 / STARTTLS. Connect in plain text, then immediately upgrade to TLS. The current standard.
- 465 / implicit TLS. The connection is encrypted from the first byte. Deprecated in 1998, brought back in 2018, and supported everywhere.
Either is fine. Pick 587 unless something tells you otherwise; if one is being blocked on the network you are on, try the other.
Why port 25 is closed
Port 25 is how mail servers talk to each other. It is also how essentially all spam has been sent since the 1990s, because a compromised machine with an open port 25 is a free relay.
So it is blocked — by us, by every serious host, and by most home and mobile ISPs in India. That is not a limitation to work around; it is the thing keeping your domain's reputation intact.
Your mail client should never need it. If a client or an application is configured for port 25, change it to 587 and give it authentication. If something genuinely needs to relay on 25, talk to us on +91 75994 50220 and we will find the right answer, which is usually a dedicated IP and an authenticated relay rather than an open port.
Settings that work
# Incoming
Server: mail.yourdomain.com
Port: 993
Security: SSL/TLS
Username: you@yourdomain.com # the FULL address
# Outgoing
Server: mail.yourdomain.com
Port: 587
Security: STARTTLS
Auth: Yes, same username and passwordTwo things account for most failed setups: using just you instead of you@yourdomain.com as the username, and leaving "outgoing server requires authentication" unticked. Both produce errors that do not say what is actually wrong.
Still not connecting
- Test from a mobile hotspot. If it works there, your office network or ISP is blocking the port — that is the single most common cause.
- Check the certificate hostname. Connecting to
mail.yourdomain.comwhen the certificate is issued for the server's own hostname will throw a warning. Use the hostname we give you. - Try the other submission port. 465 if 587 fails, and vice versa.
- Confirm the password. Mail clients cache old passwords and fail quietly for days after a change.
Mailboxes are included on every cPanel plan, and business email hosting adds mail-only IPs and proper deliverability configuration. Either way, call +91 75994 50220 and we will set the first device up with you.